Plane was at Iwo Jima

June 29, 2013

The OY-1/(L-5) Sentinel now at the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot was at the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II.

It is one of 11 planes belonging to the Texas Flying Legends Museum based in Houston. The planes spend a portion of the year in Minot and also in Maine before returning to Houston for the winter months.

Duncan Cameron, who restored the OY-01 Sentinel, flew it to Minot a short time ago from Nashville.

Article Photos

Eloise Ogden/MDNThis is the cockpit of the OY-1 (L-5) Sentinel, shown Thursday in the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot. This particular plane was used as an artillery spotter on Iwo Jima. An observer sat behind the pilot.

Eloise Ogden/MDNThe OY-1 (L-5) Sentinel, a plane that was used at Iwo Jima during World War II, is shown Thursday in the Dakota Territory Air Museum in Minot.

During World War II, Merton Hansen, of Des Moines, Iowa, flew the plane at Iwo Jima.

Used as an artillery spotter on Iwo Jima, the plane has room for a pilot and an observer in the back seat.

During the war it was used to look for the enemy on the ground and relay that information to the artillery or mortor units, said Glenn Blackaby, curator of the Minot air museum.

The plane suffered battle damage in the air and on the ground from mortar, sniper and anti-aircraft fire. The bullet holes were patched, according to information about the plane.

The OY-01 Sentinel as well as a Douglas C-53/C-47 Sky Trooper are among planes the Texas Flying Legends Museum has added to its collection.

Last year in Reno, Nev., the OY-01 Sentinel received the Neil A. Armstrong Aviation Heritage Award for its restoration, Blackaby said.

Hansen will be among a number of military veterans representing the 11 World War II planes for a veterans' recognition at the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2013 event in Wisconsin in late July.